Magnetic snap fasteners are commonly used to provide convenient releasable coupling of two or more components and/or materials in items such as garments, clothing, fashion accessories, bags, purses, shoes, and the like. Magnetic snap fasteners typically include two portions, each attached to a component or base material, that are designed to magnetically mate with each other. Accordingly, the magnetic mating of the two portions can facilitate releasable coupling of the two components and/or materials to which the magnetic snap fastener is attached.
In past practice, magnetic fasteners have typically been either mounted on the surface of the materials or hidden inside a seam or in a lining. The magnetic circuits of hidden fasteners have generally either been to channel the magnetic flux around the outside of a solid magnetic disk, or through the center of a toroidally shaped magnetic disk. Fasteners which conduct their magnetic flux through a backplate and a central pin which extends through the central bore of the toroidal shaped magnet have been constructed of an assembly of components wherein the backplate and central are separate elements assembled together.